re California: I agree that the condor is a total badass, but 1) it would be super embarassing if we made our state bird extinct, which is still a possibility; and 2) quail menfolk have little wiggly feather hats!

@formergr Ha! She is not at all treat-motivated unfortunately. She is only motivated by LASERS and TWIRLING FEATHERS so apparently I will have to march around the neighborhood like I'm having a one-person delusional vegas show. She is, however, extremely needy, and I'm betting she'll come running if she can hear me.

@raised amongst catalogs @par_parenthese hello sweets! other than the CAT-ASTROPHE (ba-dum ching) things are ok - new job! and dudefriend and I are working through it, and he's coming cat hunting tonight. So better -- or at least more manageable. Thanks, friends.

@raised amongst catalogs thanks, I'm really hoping she will find her way back :( She's got a collar on with my phone number and is microchipped so hopefully that will help if she managed to wander off too far.

oh, and @raised amongst catalogs, things are otherwise ok -- dudefriend and I had a good chat and I'm chalking up most of the panic to growing pains (we hadn't had a check-in talk in a long time) and giving it a little time before I make any sweeping DTMFA moves, because he's pretty great and our life circumstances are not helping the situation. how is your situation shaking out??

my roommate let my kitty out by accident after I went to bed last night and she's still missing and she's the best kitty ever and someone's probably going to catnap her if she didn't already get eaten by urban wildlife or a mean dog or something because she will crawl into anybody's arms/house/car if they agree to pet her. :(:(:(

Oh god I hate the limp back-patting hugs, the kind with hips all akimbo in an attempt to avoid any more contact than absolutely necessary to complete the transaction. If the hug is gonna happen, just go with it and fake the happy squeeze.

@emmycantbemeeko Right? My mom made all of our bread from scratch and made the most amazing food, but at lunchtime I would just wiggle with jealously over those tidy wonder-bread-bologna sandwiches that other kids had. And their squeezits. God I wanted squeezits, even though they just tasted like burning.